Zoom Patrese held the record for a decade and a half

Ex-Formula One driver Riccardo Patrese, who raced in 256 Grand Prix from 1977 to 1993, will get a taste of a modern Formula One car on Tuesday 9 September courtesy of the Honda Racing F1 Team.

The Italian will return to the driving seat when he takes the wheel of last year's Honda RA107 race car at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain.

The Honda team extended the invitation of a guest drive to Patrese following his contribution to the celebrations surrounding Rubens Barrichello's milestone 257th Grand Prix earlier this year.

At the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix last May, Barrichello broke Patrese's long-standing 15-year record to become the most experienced Grand Prix driver of all time.

Whilst taking part in a celebratory golf tournament, Patrese mentioned that he would love to try out a Honda F1 car, and the team was delighted to give him this opportunity.

During his 17-year Formula One career, Riccardo Patrese achieved six wins, 37 podiums, eight pole positions and 13 fastest laps over the span of his 256 race starts, which were accomplished with the Shadow Racing, Arrows, Brabham, Alfa Romeo, Williams, and Benetton teams.

D.B. © CAPSIS International